The Christian County Grand Jury handed down several indictments Friday, including on charges of child abuse and endangerment.
A true bill was returned on Maria Berry of Oak Grove on charges of fourth-degree assault – child abuse, abandonment of a minor, intimidating a participant in the legal process, and first-degree strangulation.
The charges stem from February 26 when Oak Grove Police reported that officers responded to Hunter Owen Court, where they discovered that Berry had struck her child with a belt and choked him before abandoning him on the side of the road during an argument about getting ready for school.
The grand jury issued separate indictments for Joshua Pedigo and Felicia Cumbee, both from Hopkinsville, on charges of first-degree possession of a controlled substance—methamphetamine—and two counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child under 12. Additionally, Pedigo was indicted on a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
On February 13, Hopkinsville Police said officers responded to a welfare check for two children on Norman Dale Drive and reportedly discovered the home without running water, fecal matter on the floor, used diapers, and trash scattered around the home.
According to police, everyone was sleeping in the living room next to a kerosene heater without proper ventilation, and the children appeared malnourished and sick. Police said the children were taken to Jennie Stuart Health for evaluation.
During the investigation, police said they also found suspected meth in the home.
Nicholas Hillebrand of Dawson Springs was indicted on three counts of abandonment of a minor and three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. He is accused of intentionally abandoning three minor children under his care on February 7 and engaging in actions that created a substantial risk of death or serious injury.
